Sluggish lawmaking leaves eight bills in limbo since 2020

Parliament’s legislative output slowed sharply in 2025, leaving eight bills that have been in the system since 2020 incomplete.The stalled legislation includes the Income Tax Amendment Bill, the Gaming and Entertainment Control Amendment Bill, the Communications Amendment Bill and the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill, all introduced in 2020.Three more bills entered the system in 2021 and remain incomplete: the Combating of Domestic Violence Amendment Bill, the Magistrates’ Court Amendment Bill and the Metrology Bill.A further version of the Combating of Domestic Violence Amendment Bill was introduced in 2022 and has also yet to be finalised, underscoring how some legislative reforms have been in limbo across multiple parliamentary terms.During the eighth parliament’s 2025 session, only two bills were passed into law, and four were left on the order paper to be carried over into the next session, scheduled to begin in February 2026.Crucial legislation The Mental Health Bill remains at committee stage, while the Regional Councils Amendment Bill, the Land Bill and the Public Enterprises Governance Amendment Bill are all at second reading.Their carryover means that some of parliament’s most consequential legislation, including reforms affecting mental health services, land administration, local governance and oversight of state-owned enterprises, was not finalised before the body went into recess.The Mental Health Bill, for example, seeks to update and strengthen legal provisions for mental health care but has languished in committee deliberations.The Regional Councils Amendment Bill proposes changes to the structure and authority of regional governance bodies, and the Land Bill aims to modernise land reform frameworks, both of which are central to ongoing policy debates.The Public Enterprises Governance Amendment Bill is intended to overhaul oversight and accountability mechanisms for state-owned enterprises – areas widely cited as crucial for improved public service delivery and economic performance.These bills will now form part of the agenda for the next parliamentary session.BacklogBeyond the 2025 session, parliament continues to manage a backlog of legislation dating back several years.Several bills introduced between 2020 and 2024 remain pending at various stages of the legislative process. These include the Income Tax Amendment Bill from 2020, which has not moved beyond early readings, and the Magistrates’ Court Amendment Bill from 2021, which remains under committee review.Also waiting for further progress are the Roads Bill from 2024 and the Namibia Financial Assistance Fund Amendment Bill from 2025, which are still under consideration.These pending bills cover areas that affect everyday life and governance. The Income Tax Amendment Bill has implications for revenue collection and taxpayer obligations.The Magistrates’ Court Amendment Bill concerns the functioning of lower courts and may affect access to justice.The Roads Bill concerns infrastructure planning and maintenance, with knock-on effects for transport and economic activity.The Namibia Financial Assistance Fund Amendment Bill affects the legal framework governing student financial support and skills development.Not enforceableIn addition to bills stalled within parliament, the Bill Register also shows a separate group of bills that have completed the parliamentary process and been gazetted, but where presidential assent is not consistently reflected across all entries.While several gazetted bills show the presidential assent tick – indicating they have been signed into law – others do not yet reflect assent on the register, meaning they are not enforceable.This group includes legislation such as the Property Practitioners Bill, alongside other gazetted bills such as the Payment System Management Bill, the Financial Intelligence Amendment Bill, the Banking Institutions Bill, the Virtual Assets Bill, the Civil Registration and Identification Bill, the High Court Amendment Bill, the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Divorce (Dissolution of Marriage) Bill, some of which already display presidential assent while others do not.Although procedurally distinct from bills still in committee or on the order paper, the practical effect remains that legislation approved by parliament may remain inactive until all final steps are completed.Varied performanceLegislative statistics from the National Assembly show that lawmaking activity has varied significantly since 2020, when eight bills were passed into law.In 2021, 20 bills were tabled, 16 passed and three were withdrawn. In 2023, 23 bills were passed into law – the highest number recorded in recent years.Legislative activity slowed again in 2024, with 12 bills passed.As of November 2025, only two bills have been enacted, making the current year the slowest in terms of legislative output since 2021.The uneven pace of lawmaking reflects a combination of factors, including the complexity of specific bills, extended committee processes, competing parliamentary priorities and changes in political focus as legislative terms advance.With several long-standing bills still awaiting finalisation, including some that have cleared parliament but not yet completed all assent or commencement steps, attention is likely to turn to whether the legislative and executive branches can accelerate the final stages of the lawmaking process in 2026.In October, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah publicly urged parliament to accelerate its work on key national laws, warning that delays in finalising pending legislation, such as the Land Bill and amendments to the Public Enterprises Act, risk slowing progress on national priorities and service delivery.

Sluggish lawmaking leaves eight bills in limbo since 2020

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-09

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Sluggish lawmaking leaves eight bills in limbo since 2020

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-09

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